Automated tape lamination is widely used in aerospace and other industries in the fabrication of large composite structures. A contour tape lamination machine (CTLM) may be used to lay composite tape in courses and plies onto a substrate. The tape is laid by a delivery head suspended from a gantry structure over the substrate. Tape may be applied in widths, for example, of six or twelve inches. A compaction shoe of the delivery head compacts the tape onto the substrate.
During the tape placement process, courses of laid tape typically are inspected for flaws such as gaps, overlaps and foreign objects. Visual inspection, however, can result in considerable machine down time. Inspection of taped areas close to the compaction shoe can be particularly difficult, because a typical CTLM delivery head has a low profile in relation to the substrate onto which tape is being laid. Additionally, the delivery head has a broad circumference relative to the compaction shoe. Thus the shape of the delivery head makes it difficult to find a line of sight to a compaction point for inspection purposes.